Tips for Netscape

NetscapeNavigator / Communicator, in the version 4.x (particulary versions
4.7x) it is widely used
in the Linux world. Mostly because it comes with any distribution, is the same
program available for
Windows or for MacOS and it is a no-brainer to use it for the
newcomers to Linux.
Latest available version is Netscape 6.1 PR1.

But not everything is wonderful.

The default fonts included with Netscape are small an horrible. Many a time
we have found activated
JavaScript for e-mails and newrgoups. The default cache size mpost of the time
is too small, effectively
slowing own the browser.Also, Netscape's file-cache system, keeps using disk
space, a lot of disk
space.

Let's solve all this.

Default Fonts

Search the package mozilla-fonts on our Linux CDs, or earch them on
the web, for example at Rpm-Find.net. Install the package. Now, the next
step goes through some Netscape
configuration. Close the program (all of its windows), start Netscape, go to

Edit -> Preferences -> Appearance -> Fonts

Select the following fonts:

Encoding: Western-iso-8859-1 o Western-iso-8859-15

Variable Width Font: Anyone with the word "...(Mozilla)"

Fixed Width Font: Courier (Mozilla)

[x] Use my Default Fonts, overriding document fonts

Those fonts are far better and bigger than the default fonts. Now, with a size 9
or 12 we will have a a nice size.
Do some tests yourselves with the size, and set the size that works better with
your screen-size and eye-sight.

(Useless) Buttons and useful Button

How many times have you used any of the buttons "Go to Shop@Netscape",
"Show Security
Information", "My Netscape"...? Exactly. Never or almost
never. Here you have an easy way to
delete those buttons and add a useful button: "Search in the Current
Page"

Inorder to delete the buttons, you need o include in the file (hidden)
.Xdefaults (yes, the name has a dot
infront of the 'X'.) Copy from the following table the lines (in red) that relate to the button that you
want to delete. After doing that, run from a terminal the command:
xrdb -merge ~/.Xdefaults

Line to Include

Button

Netscape*toolBar.myshopping.isEnabled:
false

Button My shopping

Netscape*toolBar.destinations.isEnabled:
false

Button Destinations

Netscape*toolBar.search.isEnabled:
false

Button Search with Netscape

Netscape*toolBar.viewSecurity.isEnabled:
false

Button Show Security

Netscape*toolBar.home.isEnabled: false

Button Home Page

Netscape*toolBar.print.isEnabled:
false

Button Print

To add a Button so useful as Find in the current web page, add the
following lines (in red) to the (hidden) file .Xdefaults
(yes, the name has a dot in front
of the 'X'name.) After doing that, run from a terminal the command:
xrdb -merge
~/.Xdefaults

Blinking Text

If the blinking text (the HTML label<BLINK>) makes you
mad, just like me
and you want Netscape to not to show you blinking text, add the next
lines (in
red) to the (hidden) text .Xdefaults yes, the name has a
dot in front of the 'X'.)
After doing that, run from a terminal the command: xrdb -merge
~/.Xdefaults

Empty Disc Cache

Ever wondered why your directory $HOME keeps growing and
growing? Aside e-mails,
Netscape is partially guilty of this. The size of the disk cache is
configured in: Edit -> Preferences ->
Advanced -> Cache. Usually it is set to 5 MB. The problem is that every
instance of the browser opens its
own cache sub-directory. So you've got a growing amount of directories in
.netscape/cachewhich
are just below 5 MB. With the command Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced ->
Cache -> Clear Disk Cache
only clears the currently used directory. The other cache directories, keep
full.

To cope with this, nothing like issuing the order (with Netscape closed)
rm -rf
/home/sinner/.netscape/cache/*, substiting "sinner" by the name of your
usernamei, of course!. If you
want to automate this process, you can do it with the order cron
or with the file
.profile.